‘I’ll be back’ - José Mourinho

'I won't be there for these final stages, not because I've been eliminated before, but because I've been "eliminated" by someone who has little knowledge of football'.

Part of an exclusive series of articles from José Mourinho, brought to you by Football.com

European competitions are about to start, particularly the Champions  League, perhaps the most important competition in the world calendar. I  won't be there for these final stages, not because I've been eliminated before, but because I've been "eliminated" by someone who has little knowledge of football. That's life, full of ups and downs, and I'm on the up,  despite the dismissal that was as unexpected as it was unfair. But I'll be back, and even more eagerly and confidently, for these UEFA matches. 

Jose Mourinho is the ambassador for Football.com.

Play to win the first game - Mourinho on his Champions League experience 

I participated in a lot of games and reached the final game several times.  They really are special games, for us as coaches, for the fans and, of course, for the players. I therefore have enough experience and knowledge to know how to move forward, even when we have opponents with far greater potential than ours. 

At this stage, I always bear in mind: in the first game, you always play to win; in the second, you know what you need to get through to the next round - either win by one goal, draw, or even lose by one or two goals.  And the knockout games are managed on this basis. 

Of course, it's essential to know your opponent’s well, to study them, to analyse their strengths and weaknesses, to see how they behave when they play at home and away, to see how they react when the result is  unfavourable. This knowledge allows you to devise the right strategy and  provide the players with all the essential information so that they know  what they are going to face when they take the pitch. 

As I've written before, I always go into the first game looking to win, like the Inter-Barcelona game almost 15 years ago, which ended with my team winning 3-1. In the second leg at Camp Nou, with Thiago Motta being sent off before the 30th minute, I played the way I needed to: to lose by just one goal. I lost 1-0, but we achieved our goal: to reach the final. And we won 

it! And when it comes to achieving a goal, any strategy or tactic can be  used, and I have no problem using them. It's a matter of intelligence and  we shouldn't care about what the self-proclaimed "commentators" may  say. "Ah! Mourinho put the bus in front of the goal and E'too at right 

back..." Yes, I did, but I played with 10 against 11, and we played a truly spectacular defensive game against Piqué, Xavi, Busquets, Ibrahimovic,  and Messi. In other words, it was a clever strategy. 

Mourinho on what to do when you lose the first game 

However, this has to change when the result of the first leg is different, i.e.  when it ends in defeat. Then you have to ponder on what you have to do,  and you have to think about the accumulated result when the second leg  ends. I often review the first match, try to find my mistakes and those of  the team as a whole, think about what I did in preparing that match and  what I have to do in the second leg to get back to the goal of winning the  knockout. And I prepare the players for that because they are motivated  by the mere fact of playing in such an important competition. 

I'll give you another example from when I coached Chelsea. In 2005, we lost our first match in Catalonia 2-1. I had to find a way to overcome the strong Barcelona team, but I knew what we had to do to send Puyol, Deco,  Xavi, Iniesta and Ronaldinho home. And, as both I and the players knew that, we won 4-2 and went through to the next round.  

Sounds simple, doesn't it?